5 Ways to Be a Life-Long Learner

with Susanne K. Arnold

1. Participate in conferences.

There is a national encaustic conference that takes place up in Provincetown, MA every year in June. It’s a wonderful opportunity, and I appreciate it. I have learned so much each year when I go: new things, new techniques, new tools.
People come to this conference from New Zealand, Canada, France . . .and they all share their ideas and their way of working, and it’s a wonderful way to see new work. I have been able to see a lot of work and to have others see my work.

2. Take a class.
One of the things that I think is important is to continually get trained and learn new things that we can offer students that make it more interesting and more fun. Lynda Ray, who also teaches encaustic painting at VisArts, also goes to the conference, and we take away different knowledge that we can share. I’ve taken her class. She’s taken mine. We sort of keep in tune with what’s going on that way.

Most of the students who’ve taken my class are looking for new experiences, and they have a wonderful time. They seem to really like it. One student has taken my class three times, getting something new out of it each time. While it is the same class, I teach it on different levels based on how much the students know. I’ve got some students who’ve never done it before, and I’ve got some students who’ve done it for years, but just want to see how I do it so they might find different ways or find different solutions for their own work.

3. Subscribe to a blog.
Here are a few of my favorite blogs about encaustic painting.
Joanne Mattera. Joanne leads the encaustic conference in Provincetown.
Evans Encaustics. Encaustic paints and supplies.
R&F Handmade Paints. Encaustic and oil pigment sticks (the best). Workshops, blog, & forum.

4. Watch some videos.
Enkaustikos. My favorite site for some great instructional videos.

5. Check out the book, Encaustic Works 2012.
The oldest and the best known of the five companies that sell encaustic paints is R&F Handmade paints. They produced a book of some of the artists’ work, Encaustic Works 2012. Some of my work is featured in there, and I get inspired checking out the work of others.

In summary
Art can come from many different places. You still have your focus, but you’re learning new things and you can share those things with your students. And then the students do amazing stuff. I sometimes am just astonished. You give an adult a little push and some new material and they come up with their own way of doing things that nobody’s done before. That’s really exciting as a teacher to get that feedback from your students that what you’re doing is making a difference for someone–even if it’s in a small, small way. You can sit in your own little studio and paint, but until you get out and share some of that knowledge, I don’t think you’re doing as much as you can do.
I had so many people support me, guide me and make suggestions to me when I was younger, and I just never forgot that. I teach because I want to do the same thing. I think of myself as a missionary for encaustic.

More Resources from Susanne
Encaustic Art Institute. Information, resources, exhibits.
Fine Art Store. Enkaustikos encaustic paint, raw materials, tools, videos.
Miles Conrad Encaustics. Encaustics made by Miles Conrad.

What do you think?

How do you stay inspired? What are your go-to methods to continue your art education? What benefits do you get from being a life-long learner?

Upcoming Opportunities to Learn with Susanne Arnold at
The Visual Arts Center of Richmond

Taking Encaustic to the Third Dimension
All Levels
Registration Information

As a medium that goes from liquid to solid in the blink of an eye, encaustic is particularly suitable for building sculptural and relief forms quickly by embedding or combining it with materials such as wood, stone, metal, ceramics, and found objects. Using encaustic, these forms can be glued, carved, layered and painted with luminous color. Students in this class will have the opportunity to combine encaustic paint with wood and various structural materials using special heated tools to create unique relief and fully three-dimensional mixed-media works of art. All tools, equipment and encaustic will be provided. November and December classes will focus on holiday gift-making. A supplemental materials list is available. Repeat students may work on independent projects. Students should bring a lunch to enjoy during class.
Section A
Saturday, October 13
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Section B
Making Angels
Saturday, November 10
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Section C
Great Gifts!
Saturday, December 8
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

About the Artist
A Virginia-based sculptor and painter, Susanne K. Arnold exhibits her work regionally and nationally. Honors include Artist-In-Education residencies in encaustic painting since 1990 for the Virginia Commission for the Arts, two Virginia Museum fellowships and national artist grants from the Ludwig Vogelstein and the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundations. Solo exhibitions include the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Portsmouth Museum, 1708 Gallery, and Art6 Gallery. In 2008, her work received the Juror’s Award in the exhibition “On the Edge” New Work in Encaustic,” held at the Fourth International Encaustic Conference. Her talk, “Ephemeral Figures in Wax,” was presented at the Sixth International Encaustic Conference, held June 1-3, 2012, in Provincetown, MA. Ms. Arnold teaches 3-D encaustic workshops at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond where her studio is located. She holds a BFA, an MA, and an MFA from VCU.